Trump's Naked Imperialism

"In the early hours of January 3, the US military launched a coordinated bombardment of key targets in Caracas, while a special Delta Force team-no doubt acting on CIA-gathered intelligence-located and seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were holed up in a fortified compound. They were helicoptered to the USS Iwo Jima battleship deployed in the Caribbean and then flown to New York, where Maduro and his wife face a brand-new indictment for engaging in a "narco-terrorism conspiracy," conveniently issued January 3, 2026."

"That charge, as The New York Times has pointed out, "is particularly ludicrous." Venezuela does not produce cocaine and is not a major hub for drugs bound for the United States. The "Cartel de los Soles," of which Maduro is the alleged kingpin, is not an actual organization, but rather a moniker invented by Venezuelan journalists to refer to the diffuse networks of smugglers and their enablers moving drugs through Venezuela on their way to Europe."

"Trump's true goals, now openly announced, are to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves-he falsely claims they were "stolen" from the United States-and to advance the so-called "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine whereby the United States asserts its predominance over the subordinate nations of Latin America."

U.S. military forces bombarded Caracas on January 3, 2026, and a Delta Force team seized Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores from a fortified compound. Maduro and his wife were transported to the USS Iwo Jima and flown to New York to face a newly issued indictment alleging a "narco-terrorism conspiracy." The narco-terrorism charge is labeled particularly ludicrous given that Venezuela does not produce cocaine nor serve as a major drug hub for the United States. The "Cartel de los Soles" is described as a journalistic moniker for diffuse smuggling networks rather than a formal cartel. A recent presidential pardon of a convicted Honduran trafficker is cited as evidence of indifference to prosecuting drug traffickers. The stated aims include seizing Venezuela's oil reserves and asserting U.S. predominance in Latin America under a proclaimed "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine.

Read at The Nation